


Quantum Entanglement

by Terrie



Series: Natural Phenomena [11]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Harry Wells is a worrywart, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 12:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14592711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrie/pseuds/Terrie
Summary: I finished it. It took me a dang year and more than a few distractions, but Natural Phenomenon is DONE. Hallelujah!





	Quantum Entanglement

**Author's Note:**

> I finished it. It took me a dang year and more than a few distractions, but Natural Phenomenon is DONE. Hallelujah!

The first day of Cisco’s recovery is spent sleeping. He wakes a few times, to eat a little something and have Harry help him shuffle to the bathroom, a necessity after a bout of dizziness made it embarrassingly difficult to get up off the toilet. Day two is similar, though Harry allows him to eat at his table, not on a tray in bed. Day three, he is allowed to move to the couch. Where he promptly falls asleep.

He wakes up to Harry acting as a pillow. A gentle hand rests on his head, and he can hear Harry humming quietly. He shifts off Harry and then cringes when he catches a whiff of himself. “I don’t know how you can stand being close to me right now. I am so gross.”

“It’s not that bad.” Harry carefully eases out from under him and helps Cisco sit up.

“I smell like BO and hospital. I'm starting to itch. I need a shower.” He's not sure which bothers him more. The sour smell of old sweat, or the chemical odor of the disinfectants that they’d drenched him in.

“How are the dizzy spells?” Harry settles on the couch so they are sitting next to each other and puts an arm around Cisco's shoulders. He pulls gently until Cisco gives in and leans in Harry. “I'm not risking you taking a fall. Let's see if we can't figure something else out.”

“You going to give me a sponge bath?” Cisco considers the idea. Plus, lots of touchy-feely time with Harry. Minus, he already feels like enough of an invalid. Also plus, he would be clean.

“I can hear you thinking.” Harry raises a hand and gently strokes Cisco’s hair. He's careful to avoid any tender spots. It's nice, but lacks the weight of Harry's normal movement.

“I'm not going to break, you know.”

The hand on Cisco's hair stills. “You almost did. You could have been killed. I could have lost you.”

Cisco feels Harry's body go tense where they touch. He reaches over to put his hand on Harry’s leg and grips it tightly. “Hey, I’m right here. You feel that? That’s me, okay?”

Harry turns to him, his expression serious in a way Cisco hasn’t seen before. He’s seen Harry worried, angry, happy, passionate, but always driven. Now, he just looks lost. He says, “If something happened to to you–”

“You’d be okay.”

“No. I wouldn't.” He puts a hand to Cisco’s mouth, keeping him quiet. “When my wife died, it nearly killed me. I mean that quite literally. The only thing that kept me going was Jesse. She was only seven. I couldn’t leave her alone. She’s not seven year old anymore.”

Cisco stares. Any words he might have said have fled. He has no doubt that Harry is serious. What do you do in response to something like that? Harry brushes fingers along the edge of one of his bruises. “You don’t have to say anything. I'm not even sure I’d believe any of it right now.”

That doesn’t stop Cisco from leaning in to press his lips to Harry’s. “I love you.”

“That, I can believe.” He gives Cisco a wan smile. “Come on. I think I promised you a chance to get clean.”

He helps Cisco into the bathroom and parks him on the seat of the toilet while he starts the water running. Harry’s eyes are on the flow of water from the tap. He dips a hand into the stream to test the temperature and adjusts it. Even so, Cisco can feel the attention on him. “So, how are we doing this? Since you’re not going to let me stand up any time before the next century?”

“You’re going to sit.” Harry points to the tub. “And I’m going to bathe you.” 

So it’s not a sponge bath. But it’s still ridiculous as Harry helps him out of his clothes and into the tub. The water is warm, but not too hot, so Cisco doesn’t have to adjust at all. He settles down and leans forward, not wanting the chill of the porcelain against his back. Harry strips off his own shirt, then throws down a towel on the floor so he can kneel on it. He cups one hand and pours the water down Cisco’s spine.

“You know, I am capable of scrubbing my own pits if you hand me a washcloth.” 

Wet fingers skim over Cisco’s shoulders. “It’s fine. I’ve got it.”

He peeks at Harry. There’s a crease to his brow, and he’s got his lower lip trapped between his teeth. It’s his thinking look. Cisco’s seen it a lot in the last couple days. “I’m going to be okay.”

“So you keep telling me.” Harry pushes Cisco’s hair off his neck to wet the skin there.

“And I’m not going to stop being Vibe.”

Harry stills. “Did I ask you to?”

“No. But I know it has to scare you.” Cisco leans back into Harry’s hand, let’s him feel his weight. “I mean, it scares me sometimes. And I’m not half the control freak you are.”

“I’m not a control freak.” 

“Says the man who won’t let me bathe myself.” Harry snorts, but says nothing. He wets a washcloth and tilts Cisco’s head back to carefully wipe around the stitches, keeping them dry. Cisco continues, “In my defense, I really didn't expect that going to the bathroom would risk life and limb.” 

“I don’t…” Harry stops, frowns, then says “I don’t want you to stop living. I want you to keep being you. I just need you to be careful.”

Cisco reaches up to rest fingers against Harry’s cheek. “Hey, listen. Just stop and listen for a moment.”

Harry rests his forearms against the edge of the tub. Those blue eyes focus on Cisco. Cisco turns and puts a hand on one of Harry’s shoulders to hold himself steady. “I can’t promise nothing bad will ever happen to me. You can’t promise that nothing bad will ever happen to you. That’s life, with or without crazy metahuman powers. I can promise that I will never leave you willingly. I don’t know if that’s enough, but it’s the best I’ve got. Promise me you’ll do the same?”

Harry grips Cisco's hand in his own. “I promise.”

“Good.” Cisco grins. “Hey, I think we just got married. While I’m naked. In my bathtub.”

“We did not get married.” 

“I made promises to you. You made promises to me.” He lifts one of Harry’ hands to place a kiss there. “Sounds like a marriage to me.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “Which of us has been married before, huh? Promises are just words. When I make you wear socks to bed because you keep warming your cold feet on my leg, then we’re really married.” 

“I can do cold feet.”

“Don’t test me, boy.” Harry’s stern expression softens as he gazes down at Cisco. “Do you… Do you want to get married?”

“Are you going anywhere?”

“No.” There is no hesitation in Harry’s answer.

“That’s all I need.” He considers Harry’s expression. “Do you want to get married?”

“Maybe. Someday.” He plants a kiss atop Cisco’s head. “After I start making you wear the socks.”

**Author's Note:**

> Lifted from Wikipedia: Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon which occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated or interact in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the state of the other(s), even when the particles are separated by a large distance—instead, a quantum state must be described for the system as a whole.
> 
> If that doesn't describe our boys....


End file.
